Two car owners refIect on iconic movie, Pontiac

The Pontiac Trans Am Special Edition that co-starred with the late Burt Reynolds in the 1977 film “Smokey and the Bandit’’ didn’t win the America Muscle class at last Sunday’s Ponte Vedra Auto Show, but certainly won the hearts of two car owners years ago.

Robin Norton of Jacksonville proudly showed off her stunning Starlight Black 1979 Firebird Trans Am with the iconic Screaming Chicken hood she bought less than a year ago, ending a lengthy search for her dream car.

“I’ve wanted to buy that car ever since the "Smokey and the Bandit'' movie came out because that was the 'cool car,'' Norton said. "The cool kids had the Trans Am, and I had a Toyota [Celica]. It was a nice car, but it sure wasn’t the Smokey and the Bandit Trans Am. That was the cool car. It made such an impression on me as a young person. I said, 'I'm going to own of one those someday.' It took a long time, but I finally found the perfect one.’’

The Trans Am was part of a car collection in Atlanta that became available after the owner passed away; the car had 40,000 original miles and was in mint condition. It was flawlessly repainted five years.

What sets Norton's Trans Am from many other Bandit Trans Ams is the story behind its glove box.

Norton and her husband, Lee, met Reynolds several years ago at a car show, telling him that they were actively looking for a Bandit Trans Am. Reynolds gave them his business card and offered to sign the glove box if they found one. Well, off came the glove box door for shipment to Burt's agent.

“Months and months went by and, quite frankly, about six to eight weeks ago, magically, it came in the mail,'' Norton said. "Isn’t that something? It very well may be one of the last cars he had the opportunity to sign.’’

As for Reynolds' death on Sept. 6 after suffering a heart attack at age 82, Norton said she was "very sad, very shocked. Even though I knew he was in ill health, I did not realize it was essentially to that point.

"He’s such an icon to so many,'' she said. "That car and that movie is so popular among everyone — whether it’s little kids or old folks,  everybody loved the "Smokey and the Bandit'' series and those cars.

"At the car show, I’ll tell more people looked at my car, took pictures and had conversations with me about it than frankly the car [a 1968 Pontaic GTO] that won in its class. It’s so near and dear to the hearts of so many people people,'' Norton said. "Even the kids are familiar with the movie;  they know what 'Smokey and the Bandit' is.'' 

Her husband, though, initially wasn't convinced that she was pursuing the right car. You see, Lee restores Corvettes and is a vintage car collector.

“He’s a Corvette guy and when I told him that I really, really wanted one of these cars, he said, 'Are you kidding me?’'' Robin said.

"He really wasn’t on the bandwagon to buy this car until we bought it because when he and a friend went up to Atlanta to bring it back on a trailer, everybody driving by the car would give them a thumbs-up or beep,'' she said. "And, when they stopped for gas, someone offered to buy the car right off the trailer.

"And when we’re driving it, people are always waving and doing things like that,'' Robin said. "Once that all started happening, he then decided that was a cool car.’’

As for Charles Kenny, his story is similar to Robin's. He loved the movie, especially the Trans Am.

"I was 12 when "Smokey and the Bandit'' came out,'' he said. "That was my favorite movie, so growing up, that was the car I always wanted. Burt was a big influence on the car. Outside of being an actor, he was big into cars.''

After owning a 1982 and '69 Firebird, the former New Yorker and Mandarin resident of eight years finally bought a 1978 Bandit Trans Am three years ago, finding it in Pennsylvania on eBay. It underwent a restoration in 2017 by Pacetti's Paint and Auto Body Shop in St. Augustine.

Trans Am's value

The natural question from car enthusiasts is, "What's the impact of Burt Reynolds' passing on the value of the Bandit Trans Am?''

Here's what Phoebe Wall Howard reported in the Detroit Free Press last week:

"Burt Reynolds will always be remembered for the high-speed chase scenes in “Smokey and the Bandit.” And those images directly impacted the car industry.

“Without a doubt, the popularity of late ‘70s Pontiac Trans Ams is due to its prominent role in the 'Smokey and the Bandit' film," said Jonathan Klinger, spokesman for Hagerty, which specializes in classic car valuation and insurance. "We specifically refer to late second-generation Trans Ams as the Smokey and the Bandit-era Trans Am.'

“In the current market, a 1977 Pontiac Trans Am Special Edition — similar to what Burt Reynolds drove in the film — is worth $76,000,'' Klinger said. "By comparison, the top Camaro of the same year — a 1977 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 — is worth $22,000 in the current market.''

Robin Norton has the original window price sticker for her Trans Am. It sold for $8,081.45 in 1979.

Here's an assessment from Chris Brewer, director of public relations for the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance Foundation and co-founder of Automotive Addicts and its Cars & Coffee cruise-in:

 "The 1977 Trans Am Special Edition like the model in the movie has been steadily increasing in value over the past decade,'' Brewer told Drive in an email this week. "As people my age [46] start to have the money to buy their dream cars, Bandit-era TA’s with the Screaming Chicken on the hood is one of the models we would definitely consider. The movie’s association with the Pontiac is a huge reason that I love it and one of the reasons why it is still relevant in pop culture today.

"My guess is that Reynold’s passing will, indeed, bring even more excitement to the car as people remember his life, but I’m not sure that it will bring a significant price jump that isn’t already in progress,'' Brewer said."In other words, the car is increasing in value and Burt’s legacy will only help the trend.

"I also think if two identical TA’s were for sale and one had Burt’s signature and the other didn’t, it would help the signed one sell faster, but I’m not sure if it would be at a premium. I just don’t know.

"I interviewed Craig Jackson [chairman and CEO of Barrett-Jackson Auction Company] in April of 2015 and asked him which cars I should invest in now that I could still buy relatively cheap and would see a nice profit. He specifically named the late-'70s and early-'80s Trans Am. He had a few others, but that one stuck with me.''

Joe DeSalvo: (904) 359-4366